The Central Intelligence
Agency crucified a prisoner in Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, according
to a report
published in The New Yorker magazine.

“A forensic examiner
found that he (the prisoner) had essentially been crucified; he died from
asphyxiation after having been hung by his arms, in a hood, and suffering
broken ribs,” the magazine’s Jane Mayer writes in the magazine’s June
22nd issue. “Military pathologists classified the case a homicide.” The
date of the murder was not given.

“No criminal charges
have ever been brought against any C.I.A. officer involved in the torture
program, despite the fact that at least three prisoners interrogated by
agency personnel died as a result of mistreatment,” Mayer notes.

An earlier report,
by John Hendren in The Los Angeles Times, indicated other torture
killings. And Human Rights First says nearly 100 detainees have died in
U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hendren reported
that one Manadel Jamadi died “of blunt-force injuries” complicated by
“compromised respiration” at Abu Ghraib prison “while he was with Navy
SEALs and other special operations troops.” Another victim, Abdul Jaleel,
died while gagged and shackled to a cell door with his hands over his
head.” Yet another prisoner, Maj. Gen. Abid Mowhosh, former commander
of Iraq’s air defenses, “died of asphyxiation due to smothering and chest
compression” in Qaim, Iraq.

"There is no
question that U.S. interrogations have resulted in deaths," says
Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU. "High-ranking officials
who knew about the torture and sat on their hands and those who created
and endorsed these policies must be held accountable. America must stop
putting its head in the sand and deal with the torture scandal."
At least scores of detainees in U.S. custody have died and homicide is
suspected. As far back as May, 2004, the Pentagon conceded at least 37
deaths of prisoners in its custody in Iraq and Afghanistan had prompted
investigations.

Nathaniel Raymond,
of Physicians for Human Rights, told The New Yorker, “We still
don’t know how many detainees were in the black sites, or who they were.
We don’t fully know the White House’s role, or the C.I.A.’s role. We need
a full accounting, especially as it relates to health professionals.”

Recently released
Justice memos, he noted, contain numerous references to CIA medical personnel
participating in coercive interrogation sessions. “They were the designers,
the legitimizers, and the implementers,” Raymond said. “This is arguably
the single greatest medical-ethics scandal in American history. We need
answers.”

The ACLU obtained
its information from the Pentagon through a Freedom of Information suit.
Documents received included 44 autopsies and death reports as well as
a summary of autopsy reports of people seized in Iraq and Afghanistan.
An ACLU statement noted, "This covers just a fraction of the
total number of Iraqis and Afghanis who have died while in U.S. custody."
(Italics added).

Torture by the CIA
has been facilitated by the Agency’s ability to hide prisoners in “black
sites” kept secret from the Red Cross, to hold prisoners off the books,
and to detain them for years without bringing charges or providing them
with lawyers.

From all indications,
CIA Director Panetta has no intention of bringing to justice CIA officials
involved in the systematic torture of prisoners. Panetta told Mayer, “I’m
going to give people the benefit of the doubt…If they do the job that
they’re paid to do, I can’t ask for a hell of a lot more.”

Such sentiments differ
markedly from those Panetta wrote in an article published last year in
the January Washington Monthly: “We either believe in the dignity
of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual
punishment, or we don’t. There is no middle ground.”

One way to discern
who really runs a country is to look to see which individuals, if any,
are above the law. In the Obama administration, like its predecessors,
they include the employees of the CIA. Crucifixions they execute in the
Middle East differ from those reported in the New Testament in at least
one important respect: Jesus Christ had a trial.

28 June 2009

(Sherwood Ross formerly
reported for major dailies and wire services. To contact him or contribute
to his Anti-War News Service: sherwoodr1@yahoo.com)

*****

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